Pat Summitt Steps Aside as Head Coach

Legendary Tennessee Lady Vols head coach Pat Summitt will no longer be roaming the sidelines down in Knoxville. Summitt, who was diagnosed with early onset dementia last year, will still be involved with the team as “head coach emeritus.” Long time assistant coach and former Lady Vol Holly Warlick will be taking over head coach duties marking the end of Summitt’s unbelievably successful 38 years of coaching.

Summitt, 59, who had 1,098 games and an NCAA record eight national championships, will remain head coach emeritus. Long-time assistant Holly Warlick, who led the team this season after Summitt revealed her medical condition in August, will be the new head coach.

“I’ve loved being the head coach at Tennessee for 38 years, but I recognize that the time has come to move into the future and to step into a new role,” Summitt said in a statement.

“I support Holly Warlick being named the next head coach, and I want to help ensure the stability of the program going forward. I would like to emphasize that I fully intend to continue working as head coach emeritus, mentoring and teaching life skills to our players, and I will continue my active role as a spokesperson in the fight against Alzheimer’s through the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund.

“If anyone asks, you can find me observing practice or in my office. Coaching is the great passion of my life, and the job to me has always been an opportunity to work with our student-athletes and help them discover what they want. I will continue to make them my passion. I love our players and my fellow coaches, and that’s not going to change.”